Realignment Conferences 7 Through 1

These are your major conference teams in college basketball. The realignment process makes for some strange bedfellows, but also some of the best possible basketball you could ever imagine.

The National Basketball Conference (NBC)

School

Former Conference

Gonzaga

West Coast

Temple

American

VCU

Atlantic 10

Tulsa

American

Southern Methodist

American

Dayton

Atlantic 10

Cincinnati

American

Richmond

Atlantic 10

Wichita State

American

St. John’s

Big East

Saint Louis

Atlantic 10

New Mexico

Mountain West

DePaul

Big East

Seton Hall

Big East

Xavier

Big East

The naming rights for this conference might be tricky, but this would be the premiere conference with a plethora of basketball-only institutions. The VCU, Richmond and St. John’s, Seton Hall rivalries add some good rivalry juice. It’s no surprise that this team is ranked seventh nationally, since that’s exactly where the American finished in KenPom and those teams make up the backbone of this conference.

The Ocean and Plains Conference (OPC)

School

Former Conference

Iowa

Big Ten

Minnesota

Big Ten

BYU

West Coast

Illinois

Big Ten

Nebraska

Big Ten

North Carolina State

ACC

Iowa State

Big 12

Virginia

ACC

Maryland

Big Ten

This feels a bit like a conference with teams who are not quite as good as their reputation. There are some great rivalries. Putting Iowa and Iowa State in the same conference could make things much more interesting in the Hawkeye state. BYU, with its independent football program, spends quite a bit on athletics and thus is popped all the way up to this conference.

The South Central Conference (SCC)

School

Former Conference

West Virginia

Big 12

Memphis

American

Mississippi

SEC

Oklahoma State

Big 12

San Diego State

Mountain West

Kansas State

Big 12

Texas Tech

Big 12

Mississippi State

SEC

Utah

Pac-12

This nine-team conference is centered around an excellent base in central part of the American south. The Memphis, Mississippi, Mississippi State trifecta would make for some excellent basketball (and football). West Virginia is a big of an outlier, but the Mountaineers already travel to schools like Oklahoma State and Texas Tech during the regular season, so it’s not that unreasonable. I was most surprised by San Diego State’s inclusion in this conference. The Aztecs are not as strong a spender as some of these other clubs, but have strong basketball attendance and academics that fit in with the rest of these schools.

Football Powers Conference (FPC)

School

Former Conference

Florida State

ACC

Virginia Tech

ACC

Southern California

Pac-12

Notre Dame

ACC

Auburn

SEC

Penn State

Big Ten

Miami (FL)

ACC

TCU

Big 12

Stanford

Pac-12

Georgia

SEC

Clemson

ACC

UCLA

Pac-12

Texas A&M

Big 12

Baylor

Big 12

What if I told you this would only be the second best football conference in the country? (I’m not kidding.) Most of these schools are joined together by their love of football and strong academics (Auburn is a bit below the standard in the second one). All of these schools (with the exception of UCLA) seem to like football a little more than basketball, which is how they end up getting grouped together. But not even the Bruins can compete with the attendance that the schools in the next conference receive.

The Cash Conference

School

Former Conference

LSU

SEC

Florida

SEC

Wisconsin

Big Ten

Ohio State

Big Ten

Texas

Big 12

Alabama

SEC

Oklahoma

Big 12

South Carolina

SEC

Tennessee

SEC

Michigan

Big Ten

Alright, the name probably wouldn’t fly, but that’s why these schools are grouped together. These are the schools that spend most aggressively in college athletics, but maybe not quite as much on men’s basketball. For instance, Texas is the biggest spending athletic department in the country according to the Equities in Athletics data, but the Longhorns only spent 54% of what Kentucky spent on men’s basketball in 2015-16. This would obviously be an amazing football conference. So I think the fans would deal.

The Basketball Way Conference

School

Former Conference

Northwestern

Big Ten

Marquette

Big East

Vanderbilt

SEC

Villanova

Big East

Providence

Big East

Georgia Tech

ACC

Georgetown

Big East

Purdue

Big Ten

Connecticut

American

Wake Forest

ACC

Duke

ACC

Creighton

Big East

Pittsburgh

ACC

California

Pac-12

Elite academics along with a strong focus on basketball programs epitomize this conference, the second best in college basketball. Yes, the second best conference in college basketball in this realignment scenario includes Northwestern. (I can’t believe I typed those words.) For most of these schools not making the NCAA Tournament is a season worthy of kickstarting a rebuild. It would be extremely competitive. These schools possess five of the past 10 national title winners.

The Blue Bloods Conference

School

Former Conference

Kansas

Big 12

North Carolina

ACC

Kentucky

SEC

Michigan State

Big Ten

Indiana

Big Ten

Arkansas

SEC

Arizona

Pac-12

Louisville

ACC

Syracuse

ACC

This is the creme de la creme of college basketball (except what happened to Duke?). If you were making the ideal college basketball conference this would be it. These schools have won the other five of the past 10 national titles. Can every team in a conference earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament? That might be the biggest issue with the conference ever coming to pass. Because it would truly be something to behold.